Literary Terms

比喩
simile/metaphor

simile
直喩

Example:
Hercules is as strong as a thousand lions.

metaphor
隠喩

Example:
Life is but a dream.

Comment:
Metaphors and similes are both describing A by comparing to B, however simile uses the words "like" or "as", while metaphor assigns B to A directly using something like the word "is". Metaphors can be considered stronger as a result and are very hard to create skillfully. By the way, these are probably the number one most important part of writing good English literature.

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symbol
象徴

Example:
The pig's head in Lord of the Flies is a symbol of the devil.

Comment:
Respected English literature tends to be full of symbols because they add depth to the work while requiring the reader to actually think while going through the book.

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personification
擬人化

Example:
The wind howled through the night.

Comment:
Personification is giving human/animal like traits to inanimate objects. So in the above example, wind is given a wolf's trait of howling. This can add some flavor to describing inanimate objects.

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alliteration
頭韻

Example:
The trio of tired travelers.

Comment:
This is the repetition of the starting sound of a series of words. This isn't quite as common, but it can add an interesting tone to a written line.

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theme
主題

Comment:
The most important part of writing good literature, the work becomes exponentially more interesting if it deals with interesting themes. Books are studied for centuries because they offer complex analysis of basic themes that are relevant forever.